TOY Newsletter #15

Issue nr. 15 - 24/09/2019

We are delighted to be able to share the news that the TOY inspired book, Intergenerational Learning in Practice: Together Old and Young will be published in November and you are now able to pre-order your copy. In this newsletter you can also register for the upcoming TOY Online Course and if you are in the Netherlands, register for the accompanying Dutch TOY workshops. This month’s newsletter has an Australian flavour. The latest TOY blog comes from Playgroups Australian. We also report on findings from Intergenerational Care Project from Griffith University in Australia and the Australian version of the TV documentary Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds.

Latest News

The TOY Book is ready for pre-order!

It is now possible to pre-order your copy of Intergenerational Learning in Practice: Together Old and Young a book written by experts in the field of IGL from Europe, North America and Australia.

The book has already received a very positive reviews including this endorsement from Matthew Kaplan, Professor, Intergenerational Programs and Aging, Pennsylvania State University, USA.

"There is much to love about this book. The opening passage illuminates the contours of meaning and joyful engagement between an older adult volunteer and a classroom of tuned-in 5-year-olds reading together. The following 14 chapters introduce fresh concepts, perspectives, and examples of "intergenerational learning" in Europe, Australia, and the U.S.”

Click here for more information about the contents and to pre-order the book from Routledge - Taylor & Francis.

Next TOY Online Course starts on 14 October

The next TOY Online Course begins on 14 October 2019. Registration is open via the TOY Online Course webpage.

These are some of the experiences of learners in earlier editions of the course:

"I really found this course very worthwhile. We are in the process of trying to start up an Intergenerational program and this has been so informative. More than anything I think it has given me the confidence to keep going. Fear of not getting it right was my biggest problem but feel totally excited and driven!"

ECEC practitioner, Ireland

The Course gave me a lot of new knowledge, ideas and tools about intergenerational connecting. I saw a lot of good examples how can older adults and young children live, learn and play together. I really liked the videos where I saw how it is in other countries. I am happy that I was part of this course.

ECEC, Slovenia

This year TOY Online learners in the Netherlands have also the possibility of participating in two networking workshops in Dutch on 17 October and 14 November 2019. Read more about the Dutch workshops here.

The development of the TOY Online Course was funded by the European Commission under the Erasmus+ Programme.

More TOY for Inclusion Hubs opening

In preparation for the opening of seven new Play Hubs, Play Hub coordinators, assistants and other members of Local Action Teams in Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Slovakia and Turkey are taking part in local training workshops this month. The new Play Hubs will be open in October, which will mean that there will soon be 14 TOY for Inclusion Hubs in full swing.

TOY for Inclusion is coordinated by ICDI and funded by Erasmus+ Programme and Open Society Foundations (OSF).

TOY for Quality programme - applications open

Are you interested in improving the quality of your intergenerational learning practice?

Then the TOY for Quality programme is what you are looking for!

With the support of a TOY Mentor and an easy to use Quality Assessment Tool you will be guided through a process involving joint reflection and action with colleagues in which the participants (children and older adults) in the IG activity also have a say.

Read more here if you are interested in applying for the TOY for Quality Programme, or contact us at info@toyproject.net.

New TOY blog posts

Ageless Play in Australia

Living in residential aged care can be lonely and socially isolating. It’s estimated up to 40 per cent of people living in aged care in Australia don’t get visitors.

The poetry of the encounter

A blog by Ron Otten, Friends of Biodanza Foundation, the Netherlands.

Events

Shared IG model more cost effective: findings from Australia

The Intergenerational Care Project team led by Griffith University’s researchers Dr Katrina Radford, Professor Anneke Fitzgerald and Dr Nerina Vecchio held a Q&A Open Forum on 21st August where they shared key findings on participant, workforce and economic outcomes of their study. Read more here.

4-years-old in an Old People’s Home comes to Australia

Australian TV channel ABC is the latest broadcasting organization to show what happens when 4-year-olds join older adults in a care centre for older people. Read more here.

TOY for Inclusion impact evaluation framework presented

On August 21, our colleagues from the Dublin City University – Early Childhood Research Centre, Dr Gillian Lake, Prof Mathias Urban, Dr Geraldine French, Fiona Giblin and Therese Farrell, presented the conceptual framework for the impact evaluation of the second phase of the TOY for Inclusion project at the EECERA conference in Greece. Read more here.

Contacts

On the TOY website we commit to provide current and ground-making news, research and developments about the world of intergenerational learning involving young children and older adults. If you have a news item you would like to share with us, please contact us at:

International Child Development Initatives- ICDI

Margaret Kernan and Giulia Cortellesi

info@toyproject.net

www.toyproject.net